Davidson-Smith, Team USA Open WBSC World Cup Tuesday

STARKVILLE – Mia Davidson-Smith and the No. 1-ranked U.S. Women's National Team will open the group stage of the WBSC Softball World Cup in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday, July 11.

This will be the former Mississippi State All-American's second competition with the national team after winning gold at the Pan American Championships in December 2022.

Davidson-Smith has batted .412 in international competition so far with three home runs while wearing the Red, White and Blue.

Team USA is one of 18 teams globally that qualified for the group stage, and one of six that will be playing in Ireland. The other two groups will be contested in Italy and Spain. The top two teams from each group along with two wild cards will advance to the final stage in Italy in 2024.

The Americans open play at 7 a.m. CT on Tuesday against No. 3 Chinese Taipei. On Wednesday, July 12, they are set to meet No. 43 Botswana at 8 a.m., and on Thursday, July 13, they fact No. 9 Australia at 8 a.m. The pool play portion of the group concludes with a doubleheader against No. 16 Great Britain and host No. 17 Ireland on July 14.

The XVII WBSC Women's Softball World Cup is the first WBSC competition to utilize the new group stage format. Following the round robin schedule, the top two nations in the standings will compete for the first automatic berth to the final stage at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 15. The loser of that game will play the winner of the No. 3 and No. 4-seed game for the second advancement slot.

Dates and the schedule for the Softball World Cup finals in 2024 will be announced at a later date.

The WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Group Stage event will be streamed via GameTime. Fans will have the option of three different services: Tournament Pass ($29.99), Group Pass ($12.99) or Daily Pass ($5.99). Tournament Pass subscribers will have full access to all 57 games across all three Groups of the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup, while Group Pass subscribers will have full access to the 19 games played in the specific group that is subscribed for (Group A, B or C). For more information on subscriptions, click here.

Davidson-Smith is the ninth Bulldog softball player to represent her country. Six others have played on Team USA at some point, most recently Chelsea Bramlett in 2009-10. Two others, including current graduate assistant Alyssa Loza have played for Team Mexico, and Gabby Coffey has played with Team Brazil. Current volunteer assistant coach Zac Shaw won bronze at the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup in 2023 with Team USA.

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Davidson-Smith, Team USA Open WBSC World Cup Tuesday

Players Mentioned

Gabby Coffey

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